Smoothy

*sigh*

This game is genius... and that's just the story mode.  Yep, I have finally managed to play it. 

Is that first post being updated?  If I create a course, can I submit it to that bitly link?

Just wanted to say that I got Super Mario Maker 2 a while ago but only got round to playing it.  This game is AMAZING - just the story player mode comes across as genius.  It's weird playing the levels from the different games, e.g. it feels like playing Super Mario World with unreleased levels.

2 hours ago, Skull Commander said:

Yup, that's how I feel too. Worst of all it just doesn't feel like Street Fighter to me so far. I've come from SF4 which I enjoyed immensely, and only had limited time on SF5 (due to it being PlayStation only). I don't know if this makes a difference but I can't help but feel this is very fighting game by focus group.

 

I really hope my feelings warm on full release as Street Fighter is one of my favourite game series of all time, but I just don't feel this is the Street Fighter I know and love. 

Agreed. Too much like SF eSports and not enough like SF old skool.

Managed to get onto the 2nd beta.  Not impressed, it seems massively unintuitive.  Changing controls is a nightmare to do, and then to try and play someone online I constantly keep on selecting Luke because you have to select the character before you sit down at a cabinet.  This is weird, what was wrong with the standard character select screen?

Did someone mention England losing when we're on ITV?

The Daily Mash agrees.

Fucking Ghana with that missed penalty.

But fuck you Uruguay with your cheating antics. Glad they're out, and especially glad that Suarez's World Cup career is over.

6 minutes ago, Gabe said:

I'm not sure why everybody seems to be wetting themselves about Argentina again, they hardly looked great against a poor Mexico side and beating Poland is no achievement.

Agreed.

35 minutes ago, Fry Crayola said:

 

That's been the case as long as I remember. You occasionally see indirect free kicks inside the box, such as when a keeper collects a back pass, and the entire defence end up on the goal line trying to block the inevitable shot that follows.

 

 

Oh yes I actually remember this, actual indirect free kicks inside the box.  I'm sure this has happened recently (in the last few years) too, in fact it was in the Spanish League last year or the year before?

@Gotters They've definitely modified the law over the years, see Wikipedia:

Quote

Since 1903, the offences for which a penalty kick is awarded within the defending team's penalty area have been identical to those for which a direct free kick is awarded outside the defending team's penalty area. These consisted of handball (excluding technical handling offences by the goalkeeper), and foul play, with the following exceptions (which were punished instead by an indirect free kick in the penalty area):

 

• Dangerous play (since 1903)
• Obstructing / impeding the progress of an opponent (1951–2016) and impeding an opponent without contact (from 2016)
• Charging when not attempting to play the ball (1948-1997)

Yeah, so the way I've always interpreted it, any fouls is a free kick at least.  If any foul by the defending team happens in the penalty area of the defending team, it's a penalty.  So a defending player impeding the progress of an attacking player without any contact being made (that would normally result in an indirect free kick) in the defending team's penalty area would result in a penalty.

However, it seems that (at least for this season) the law is that it's a penalty kick only for fouls that would result in a direct free kick anywhere else, which would mean that impeding a player isn't one of those that would result in a penalty.

2 minutes ago, Gotters said:

I know, and its shit.

 

The reward is way out of whack with the offence and encourages cheating.

Although looking at the 2022/2023 Laws of the Game, it actually says:

 

Quote

A penalty kick is awarded if a player commits a direct free kick offence inside their penalty area or off the field as part of play as outlined in Laws 12 and 13.

So indirect free kick offences don't result in a penalty.

26 minutes ago, Gotters said:

I hate the handball laws, and in general the penalty laws.

 

A pen is scored about 75% of the time, so in giving one you are usually giving a goal, most of the 'offences' now aren't even blocking attacking plays, they merely occur in the box. Yes that hit the blokes hand now but how is it worthy of a goal ?

That's the law (of the game).  Fouls that occur in the box is a penalty.  Hence, (defending) players need to be extra careful.  It's not and never has been about the level of fouls.

Watching both matches using Sky's info bar

5 hours ago, Gigawatt said:

I always feel a strange sense of loss when the period of 3-4 games a day comes to an end.  I know why they have the final group games on at the same time but I still would prefer to be able to watch them all.  And then the first day when there are no games is a massive shock to the system. Bring on 48 teams!

This has never been a problem in the 2000s - either utilise a TV (or box) with Picture-In-Picture, or use a mobile or tablet at the same time as a TV.  I've been doing this for all the major International football tournaments since I think 2010.

Before the 2000s, multiple TVs, or even watching it on one TV (with the sound down, cos big mouth commentators will ruin the scores of the other game) while recording the other on VCR (and watching it back immediately after the first game).

5 hours ago, Boothjan said:

48 teams will not be a good thing for the tournament - there will be too many shit teams qualifying which will massively dilute the quality of the finals, and having 3 team groups is a stupid idea.  We're going to get plenty of Austria v West Germany situations.  32 teams with 4 teams in a group is the best setup.

 

I also want it back in the summer because it's just not felt right this time, and not just because of the unsuitable setting.  The build up was wrong, and having BBQs, spilling out into packed beer gardens etc is one of the things I look forward to most about the tournament.

Agreed.  48 is too much, and means you have to have weird hacky ways of guaranteeing the next round of knockouts is 16 or 32 (in this case, 3 group teams).  It's almost as bad as UEFA increasing the European Championships as well, which definitely shouldn't happen considering there's only 50+ nations affiliated to UEFA.  It's now so big that it can't be hosted by just one nation any more (although I'm sure the bigger nations such as England, France, Germany, even the US could but it'd be insanely expensive).

Pitch invader

16 hours ago, ChewMagma said:

 

Because it would mess with TV broadcaster's schedules too much is the key reason I imagine.

 

Seeing the disaster of VAR though, I'd be very wary of making any further fundamental changes to the sport.

 

Just leave it as it is.

Nothing to do with broadcasters, football has always been like this since before TVs, and also the same broadcasters are fine with rugby and NFL stopping the clock.

6 hours ago, Bucky said:

I can't be the one irrationally hate the countdown to kick-off?  It's as artificial as the plastic flags at Chelsea.

Yeah it's artificial nonsense.  They've been doing it for years, and it's still bollocks now.

Did they have the RC car that carries the ball in this tournament?

Fuck me that was 💩.  To be fair, England are always poor in at least one game in the groups.

Wales are fucked then

Piss poor by Wales there.

Full story here.

1 hour ago, carlospie said:

Roy Keane is right. Harry kane should walk out of the next game with a yellow card, who gives a fuck.

 

No way FIFA are gonna yellow card every single captain, every game.

 

Leadership is about taking action, not hiding like a coward. 

This is what I said the very moment it was known that The FA had folded (on Monday).

Total shades of 1990.

Let's hope though that they don't do the same as they did in 1990 and somehow sneak out of the group and stink the knockouts on the way to the final.

11 hours ago, feltmonkey said:

9 minutes??? What's going on with the injury time at this World Cup?

11 hours ago, deerokus said:

Apparently the officials have been told to add time for every little thing.

 

Would be better with the clock just stopping if this is the future.

11 hours ago, Marlowe said:

 

I'm hoping it's a directive to start adding on an amount of time that's reflective of the time wasting that goes on in every game. I'd quite happily see this become the new norm.

Indeed.